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January 14, 2026

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Members of the Kurdish forces hold a portrait of Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler which reads "Shame on the killers of innocents in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood" during a protest by Syrian Kurds against violence they say was committed by Syrian government forces during recent clashes in Aleppo's Kurdish neighbourhoods, in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Jan. 13, 2026.

Syria declares 'closed military zone' east of Aleppo as Kurds protest

The Syrian government accused the Kurdish-led SDF of mobilizing in the area, reflecting ongoing turmoil following a ceasefire.

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City. — Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Syria’s Sharaa heads to Davos, ending years of global isolation

The World Economic Forum begins on January 19 and ends on January 23, hosting a cohort of around 400 political leaders.

Sheikh Hikmat Salman al-Hijri is pictured at Qanawat, the headquarters of the Druze spiritual presidency, on Dec. 28, 2024, in Suwayda, Syria.

Syria Druze leader Hijri calls for independent entity, says country ‘heading toward partition’

Controversial Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri, in Syria’s southern province of Suwayda, praised Israel as the only party he said intervened to stop the killing of Druze during a wave of unrest last summer.

Israel military vehicles drive along the border fence into Israel, near the town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on July 17, 2025. Syrian government forces have withdrawn from the whole of Sweida province after days of sectarian bloodshed in the heartland of the Druze minority, a war monitor and witnesses said July 17, 2025. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

What Syria and Israel’s new communications cell really signals

The deal reached in Paris under US mediation reflects a rare step toward managing tensions but stops short of halting Israeli military strikes or producing a broader security pact.

Rina Bassist

By Rosaleen Carroll , Rina Bassist

Latest News

Exclusive

Closed-door breakdown in Syria-Kurdish talks foreshadowed Aleppo clashes

Bakr ALKASEM / AFP via Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Sharaa tells Iraq's Barzani Kurds integral to Syria amid fears of Aleppo spillover

Safin HAMID / AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Top Syrian Kurdish official Foza Yusuf says war with Damascus lose-lose for all

An undated image of Foza Yusif.

Foza Yusuf

Foza Yusuf

Top Syrian Kurdish official

Turkey's Fidan says Israel ties harden SDF stance as Syria clashes grow

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups merge under new banner

A group of factions affiliated with the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army have formed a new alliance known as the Syrian Liberation Front intended to end the power struggle between Turkey’s allied factions in northern Syria.

Members of Syria's top jihadist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" through the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, Syria, Aug. 20, 2021.

Jihadist group in Idlib vows to keep foreign fighters in Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani says "these foreign fighters are now part of us."

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters hold up the flags of (R to L) their unit, Turkey and the flag of the Syrian opposition.

Turkish-backed Syrian forces intensify attacks on US-aligned Syrian Kurdish group

The Turkish army and its allied Syrian factions have recently increased attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria.

Members of Syria's top jihadist group the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" through the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib on Aug. 20, 2021.

Syrian jihadist group in Idlib replaces security squad with 'moral police'

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib has ended the work of its security apparatus that has been accused of controlling people’s lives.

A Syrian man counts his money at a currency exchange counter in the town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, near the Turkish border, on March 6, 2020.

Amid escalation in Idlib, residents fear renewed Russian-backed offensive

Syrian government forces have stepped up their attacks against Idlib, causing civilian casualties as Russian warplanes continue to raid different areas of northwestern Syria on an almost daily basis.

Lebanese wait to fill their gas cylinders in the southern city of Sidon amidst a deepening economic crisis, on Aug. 10, 2021.

Lebanese energy plan includes Syria

A meeting of Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian ministers seems to have cracked Syria's isolation.

Syrian journalist Zeina Shahla types on her laptop at a cafe, Damascus, Syria, March 1, 2021.

Jihadist group in Idlib bans pro-opposition news channel

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has banned the pro-opposition Orient News channel from media coverage in Idlib, raising fears about the state of press freedom in Syria’s Idlib.

Members of the Spanish Guardia civil stand near vehicles seized during a raid targeting assets of the family of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in the Puerto Banus marina area of the plush resort of Marbella on April 4, 2017.

French court upholds conviction of Assad's uncle in money laundering case

A French court last year sentenced Rifaat al-Assad to four years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of his French real estate assets.

A drone images shows Syrian demonstrators gathering during a protest in the village of Maaret al-Naasan to protests against a reported attack by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Idlib province, Syria, May 1, 2020,

Syrian jihadist group works to attract tribes in Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been paying more attention to Arab tribes and clans to benefit from them in expanding its influence in social circles and in recruitment processes.

Syrian Kurdish fighters walk carrying a People's Protection Units (YPG) yellow flag in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane.

Syrian Kurdish parties feel abandoned by US in wake of Turkish-backed attack

Turkey stepped up its attacks against Kurds in Syria, which raised concerns among the Kurdish forces over the US and Russian roles.

Members of Syria's top jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, parade with their flags and those of the Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" at the Clock Square in the center of the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, Aug. 20, 2021.

Syrian tribe forms Shura Council in Idlib with blessing from jihadist group

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib demanded all the tribes in the areas it controls to coordinate with it to form separate Shura councils, with the aim of controlling the decisions taken by these tribes and expanding its popular base.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

Amnesty report says Syrian refugees return to torture, rape

The report documented human rights violations carried out by Syrian intelligence officers against 66 Syrians who returned to the war-torn country, including 13 children.